'apospories' originates from New Latin, specifically the word 'apospora', where the prefix 'a-' meant 'without' and 'spora' meant 'seed' or 'spore'.

'apospora' was formed from Greek elements 'a-' + 'spora' (σπορά, meaning 'seed, sowing'), passed into New/Modern Latin and 19th-century botanical usage as 'apospory', and the English plural form developed as 'apospories'.

Initially it referred generally to absence of spores or to forms lacking normal spore-based reproduction; over time it became the technical botanical term for development of a sporophyte from gametophyte tissue without fertilization.